Introduction of the organisation

Agrogoti Sangstha is a non-governmental development organization and working in the south-west part of Bangladesh since 1988. In 1999 Agrogoti Sangstha get registration and from there the organization has been empowering local people and institutions to ensure good governance and human rights for all people with the aim of building a just and self-reliant society. Accountability, ownership, participation, empowerment, special focus on the rights of the most marginalized or vulnerable groups, emphasis on the root causes, compliance with the integrity of human rights is one of the strategies of the organization. Progress is working on five areas: good governance, children’s rights, human rights, climate change & adaptation and the right to health.

Programmatic interventions

Programmatic Area:

  1. Good Governance
  2. Child Rights
  3. Human Rights
  4. Climate change & adaptation
  5. Health Rights

We are now mainstreaming Gender Equality and Environmental Sustainability through our ongoing project.

Short brief on the programmatic interventions:

a) Strengthening Community Rights and Empowerment (SCORE)

Period: 1st January 2019 to 28th February, 2021

Target Population:
Total Beneficiaries:  14891
Direct Beneficiaries: 14121 & Indirect Beneficiaries: 770

Geographical Coverage: Satkhira Sadar, Kaligonj & Kalaroa upazila under Satkhira district.

Major Inputs:

  1. Provide continue technical support to the LGIs for increase gradually to implement ward shava, fare safety net beneficiary selection, open budget, UDCCM, Standing Committee Meeting etc.
  2. Activated up SUF (citizen support group) at ward, UP, UpZ and district level as well as conduct meeting and training so community platform remain strengthened for their engagement in the governance process for the betterment of the marginalized people.
  3. Provided IGA support among 311 beneficiaries from the marginalized families.

Final outputs:

  1. Most of the union parishad under Satkhira district arranged ward shava and open budget ceremony from 2004 to till now.
  2. Most of the union parishad under Satkhira district prepared and followed 5-year development plan with technical support of Agrogoti Sangstha.
  3. 276 beneficiaries continued their IGA program and support their family.

b) Advancing Women’s Right of access to Information in Bangladesh

Period: February 2020 to March 2022

Target Population:
Empowerment on Right To Information- 2558
Access to service through RTI- 2936
(All beneficiaries are Dalit, disable, ethnic, widow, youth & marginalized people)

Geographical Coverage: 2 Union in every upazila Satkhira Sadar, Kaligonj & Shyamnagor upazila under Satkhira district.

Major Inputs:

  1. 12 women’s clubs at the grassroots level, 6 RTI women’s cells at the union level, 3 RTI cells at the Upazilla level, and 1 RTI cell at the district level have been formed in 6 unions of Shyamnagar, Kaligonj, and Satkhira Sadar Upazila.
  2. 72 youths from Shyamnagar, Kaligonj and Satkhira Sadar Upazila have been imparted on RTI training.
  3. Training on RTI has been imparted to 20 local organizations of Shyamnagar, Kaliganj and Satkhira Sadar Upazila.

Final outputs:

  1. Now the Union, Upazila and district RTI Cell members are working for Dalit and Marginalized women at different times in collaboration with RTI Issues by accessing the government information.
  2. From September 2020 to October 2021, Youth Key Informant have cooperated in a total of 304 RTI applications. They got 88 answers of RTI, and a total of 36 government services through RTI application.

c) ASHSHASH-For Men and Women Who Have Escaped Trafficking

Period: November, 2019 to April, 2022

Target Population: Direct Beneficiaries: 1500 & Indirect Beneficiaries: 240,000

Geographical Coverage:
Shyamnagar, Tala, Kaligonj and Satkhira Sadar Upazila under Satkhira district & Digholia, Fultola, Dumuria, Koira, Paikgacha Upazilla & 1-16 Ward of City Corporation Khulna District.

Major Inputs:

  1. 756 trafficking survivors have been identified (Satkhira: 388, Khulna: 368) from the field survey.
  2. Through need assessment, they are being provided skill development training and entrepreneurship training.
  3. The staffs are capacitated enough for counselling the survivors after getting training under Ashshash project from Nasirullah Psychotherapy Unit, Dhaka University.

Final outputs:

  1. 118 trafficking survivors are continue their own business and 126 trafficking survivors are continue their job in different places and now they live a dignified life after receiving skill development training and entrepreneurship training.
  2. Cooperative and networking relationship has been developed with DEMO, TTC, MoWCA, DYD, social welfare and other go-NGO service provider for the trafficking survivors of their socio-economic wellbeing process can be continued smoothly.

 

IGA support provided into these beneficiaries

 

Trafficking survivors receiving skill development training and entrepreneurship training

Future outlook and recommendations

Lessons learnt from last strategic period:

  • Transparency and Accountability increase when the local community people become more capable and participate in decision making of development works.
  • When the GOs and NGOs are capable to properly implement their services, people get their required services timely and systematically.
  • Growth of development increase when the young people engage in development work.
  • The number of children committing crimes decreases if they get a proper education.
  • If efficient information exchange systems between the people and authorities are developed, the propensity of corruption is reduced.
  • The numbers of crime can be minimized if we combine the restorative justice approach with our existing justice approaches.
  • When people will be sensitized and aware, the social taboos are reduced and their SRHR rights are ensured.
  • Indigenous people’s opinions were not properly emphasised in the government’s plan for infrastructural development of coastal area. So, the existing approaches don’t seem beneficial to the local population and are not sustainable in the long term.
  • Lack of proper knowledge regarding safe internet usage among the guardians is contributing too many children being abused, bullied and brainwashed online.
  • Government has not considered the coastal areas as disaster prone and appropriate infrastructures are not being built in a sustainable manner.
  • AS needs to develop its own income generating systems and reduce its dependency on the donor funds only. This way, the organization can continue its work even in fund shortages.

Anticipated for the future challenges:

  1. To promote and ensure community participation and ownership in development programs.
  2. To capacitated community people through skill development and reduce poverty through livelihood support.
  3. To capacitate community and institutions for ensuring the rights of all people.
  4. To protect child rights for ensuring participation, including in decision making process, providing opportunities of health issues.
  5. To develop the capacity of adaptation with different types of disaster like cyclone, flood, river siltation, water locking etc. in local community.
  6. To increase the capacity of the Government and non-government health institutions for tackling the crisis time like Covid-19.
  7. To be self-reliant and develop alternate income generating sources for maintaining sustainability of the organization.
  8. To develop national and international partnerships and expand the geographical coverage of the organization.

 

Website link of your organisation and programme/project

Link: https://agrogoti.org